“You tell Wally?”
“If it is his business, he would already know it. If it isn’t his business, why would I tell him? I see you more than I see him.”
“And what does that tell you, Franklin?”
“I didn’t know if you are a funeral guy or the police or what you are. But now, well, okay. You don’t work at the same place as Wally but… Well, it’s okay with me, I understand.” He glanced at Helene. “I see her with Colonel Godoy at the hotel I thought she was his friend. But now I see she works for you. Okay, you don’t have to tell me nothing.” Franklin leaned over to push up from the sofa. “I wonder if I can use your toilet.”
“It’s in there.”
Franklin stood up, walked into the bedroom.
Jack looked at the pistol lying on the sofa. Then at Helene as she said, “Jack? You’re scary. You should’ve been an actor.”
“I know it.”
“He trusts you.”
“I’ve got him confused, anyway, I know so much about him. He thinks I must be some kind of secret agent.”
“He even likes you.”
“You serious?”
“Jack, the way those guys treat him, those arrogant little assholes… You’re probably the only person he knows who even talks to him.”
“You think so?”
“They treat him awful.”
“He’s not a bad guy.”
“He seems nice.”
“Yeah, you get to know him.”
“They’re all short, aren’t they?”
“He’s tough though, you can tell.”
“His suit’s way too big for him.”
“They screw up, he takes the fall.”
“The poor guy.”
“They use him and then they’ll throw him away.”
“But you’re not, huh?”
“I’m trying to help him.”
“Hey, Jack…”
“I am.”
“He just flushed the john.”
“Good, I’m glad he knows how to do that.”
“Boy, if anybody should’ve been an actor.”
“You really think so?”
“All the years you wasted, it’s a shame.”
“I’m doing all right.”
When Franklin came back he stopped and looked at his gun lying on the sofa before he sat down. Then looked at Jack and seemed to smile. Jack got up and poured him another vodka.
“Are you a happy guy, Franklin?”
“I feel pretty good.”
“Going home tomorrow, huh?”
The way Franklin grinned Jack knew the vodka was working. Sitting down again Jack said, “Let me ask you something, Franklin. Do you understand what the war’s about, down in Nicaragua?”
“Sure, we fight Sandinistas.”
“Yeah, but do you have a good reason?”
“They the worst kind of people,” Franklin said. “They burn our homes, take our land, they kill some of us, and make us go live where we don’t want to.”
Jack said, “Oh.”
There was a silence, Franklin watching him.
Jack said, “Let me ask you something else. You think the colonel’s gonna get on that banana boat tomorrow? With those bank sacks full of money?”
It caught Franklin with his drink raised, about to take a sip.
“And with his brand-new cream-colored Mercedes? You think it’s possible?”
Franklin kept watching him, but didn’t answer.
“If he can’t take it on the boat, you think he’s gonna drive it all the way to Nicaragua? That sixty-thousand-dollar automobile. He isn’t gonna leave it. Shit, he just bought it yesterday.”
Franklin said, “I thought it might be Crispin’s.”
“You did, huh? Then how come it’s in the colonel’s name? He bought it, Franklin, that means he owns it… What’d Wally say about it?”
“Wally said only to call him if they leave me here.”
Jack had to give that some thought. He said, “Go on, take a drink and I’ll tell you something else.”
He watched Franklin swallow half the vodka in the glass, make a face, squeeze his eyes closed and open them, and wipe his hand across his mouth.
“Wally has your best interest at heart and I’m glad to know that,” Jack said. “You’re a good guy, Franklin. We don’t want to see you get in trouble. But I think it’s best if you don’t wait around.”
Franklin cleared his throat. He said, “Leave here?”
Jack bit on his lower lip. “Damn, I wish I could tell you exactly how I work. I ‘magine it’s confusing to you, all the ins and outs of this kind of game. Hey, I even get a little confused myself sometimes.” He sneaked a glance at Helene, his audience, watching him with her mouth slightly open, not moving a muscle. Jack bit on his lip again. “Franklin, if I tell you something I shouldn’t, will you promise not to repeat it to anybody, not even to Wally?… You’d have to promise me on your honor.”
Franklin was nodding his head.
“Say it.”
“Yes, I promise.”
“On your honor.”
“Yes, on my honor.”
“Okay. First, do you know where the money is?”
“Maybe in that hotel room.”
“You think so?”
“Maybe.”
“Where else could it be? I was thinking maybe the car, but that wouldn’t be as safe as having it in the room, would it?”
Franklin didn’t answer. He seemed to shrug and Jack wasn’t sure if he liked the way the guy was staring at him.
“It doesn’t matter. Here’s the deal, Franklin. It looks like the colonel and his buddy are gonna take off for Miami with the cash. We think tomorrow.” Jack gave him a sly grin. “You kind of suspected that too, huh? Talked it over with Wally? The possibility? But I’ll bet he didn’t tell you what’s gonna happen to those two assholes, did he? You understand I can’t give you the details, Franklin, they’re confidential. But I’ll tell you this much. If you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in prison, convicted of a serious crime, then you’ll make me another promise, right now. Will you do that, for your own good?”
Franklin seemed about to nod, ready to, but waited.
“I visited a state prison one time and I’ll tell you, they are no fun,” Jack said. “All I’m asking is that you promise me you’ll get on that banana boat tomorrow morning and go straight home to your family.”
Now he was nodding.
“Doesn’t that sound good? Get out of this mess and go back home? Man, it sure sounds good to me. I wish you a safe journey, Franklin…”
He was still nodding.
“And God bless you.”
Jack kept his reverent gaze squarely on the Miskito Indian. He didn’t dare look at Helene.
ROY OPENED THE DOOR bare to the waist, showing Lucy the mat of black hair that covered his chest. He moved his hand over it in a slow circle as he said, “Well, I guess we’re serious, huh?” He looked past her toward the Nicaraguan’s suite. “You hear anything when you got off the elevator? Women screaming for help?”
“Music,” Lucy said, “that’s all.”
“They’re still partying. Couple ladies of the evening joined them a while ago.”
Following Roy into 509 she said, “I thought you left the door open so you could watch.”
“What’s there to see? They’re not going anywhere. Boy, it makes you wonder-couple of clowns like that sitting on two million bucks. But they’re typical; you know it? Guys that get into crime, most can barely write a note to hand the bank teller. Even the ones that appear fairly intelligent will turn stupid out of desperation. Like those two-I wouldn’t be surprised they’re telling the whores their business; showing off. That’s the type they are. Even to letting ’em see the cash. I still think there’s a good chance it’s in the room. Hell, if I was the least bit sure, me and you could bust in right now and get it done.” Roy walked into the bathroom.
Lucy looked at the double bed, still made but rumpled, the pillows pulled out, parts of a newspaper and a black knit shirt lying on the spread. She was aware of being alone with Roy; she could feel it and was self-conscious standing here in sandals, slacks, and her linen jacket, a straw bag hanging from her shoulder.
Roy faced the washbasin with a can of talcum powder, the bathroom door open. Lucy watched him rub his hands together, then raise them to caress his jaw and throat as he stared at himself in the mirror.
“I thought Cullen was here.”